[youtube=http://youtu.be/B22ckUxr0D8]

A criticism I read about a few college running backs this week was the tendency for some of them to run up the back of offensive linemen. Sometimes this is a fair criticism of a player. However, it’s also an observation that requires a strong frame of reference about the critic. It’s easy to evaluate a running back, see him run into a lineman’s back, and conclude that he lacks patience, agility, or good decision-making.

However, there are numerous examples of plays where a running back is not at fault for colliding with the backsides of his blockers. Considering the number of Tweets I saw this week where this conclusion was made about a back, I thought it might be helpful to provide examples of when this type of behavior is not the fault of the runner. I’m using South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore and his teammates as an example. Continue reading →